Insect destroyer



May 28, 1940. J. R. DIFFINBAUGH 2,202,445

' INSECT DESTROYER Filed July 10, 1939 In ventor A itorneys Patented May 28, 1940 UNIT D "STATES PM OF This application is a continuation in part of my application Serial No. 204,240,filed April 25,

The present invention relates to insect destroyers and embodies a portable pan adapted to be moved along a row of growing plants and in which pan is carried a quantity of insecticide within which the bugs, insects and the like are deposited by the agitation of the plants during the movement of the pan relative thereto.

One of the important objects of the present invention is to provide an insecticide container having a perforated strainer removably mounted therein'and normally immersed in the insecticide and adapted to remove the insects from the pan without disturbing the insecticide, the strainer being provided with longitudinal and transverse partitions to prevent surging of the liquid from one end of the pan to the other while being manipulated.

A further important object is to provide a pan having a bottom provided at its longitudinal edges with upwardly curved side walls and a brace rod connecting the upper edges of the side walls and adapted to adjust the walls relative to each other to enablethe free movement of the pan through confined spaces between rows of plants without causing injury thereto.

A further important object is to provide a pan of this character embodying a pair of spaced parallel forwardly extending pan sections having an insecticide container rearwardly thereof, the front edge of the container being providedwith a transversely extending partition having a forwardly inclined surface and over which the insects may be driven into the receptacle by the force of air generated by a paddle manipulated by the operator to dislodge the insects from the plant into the pan. I 1

An additional object is to provide a device of this character of simple and practical construction, which is strong and durable, eflficient and reliable in operation and otherwise well adapted for the purposes for which the same is intended.

Other objects reside in the details of construction as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which Figure 1 is a top plan view.

Figure 2 is a front elevational view.

Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view, and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the paddle.

, with relatively short upstanding walls 9, which side ofthe handle 12 to enable the device to be 1 places.

Referring now to thedrawing in detail, wherein for the'jpurpose of illustration I have disclosed a preferred embodiment of the invention, the nu-' meral 5 designates a pan generally which includes a pair of spaced parallel forwardly extending pan 5 sections 6, the bottom"! of each of the pan sections curving upwardly at their longitudinal outer side edges'to'form upstanding side walls 8. The inner edges of the pan sections I? are provided extend partly across the front of the members as shown in Figure 1 of the drawing.

The rear'portion of the sections 6 are provided with acommon bottom Ill and the rear edges of the section 6 are joined by an upstanding rear wall l A handle l2 extends upwardly from the upper edge of the rear wall II and is connected thereto by means of bolts H! or the like, the handle having a forwardly extending hand grip l4 and a laterally extending hand grip l5 secured to the upper portion of the handle [2 by a bolt and wing nut l6 which may be removed or loosened and'permit thehand grip Hi to swing to either conveniently carried by either the right or left handed person.

The rear portion of the pan 5 is of arcuate shape in cross section, as will be apparent from an inspection of Figure 2 of the drawing, and is provided with atransversely extending partition I! which inclines upwardly and rearwardly from the bottom of the pan sections 6 and is spaced forwardlyfrom the rear wall H to provide an insecticide receptacle l8. v

Positioned in the receptacle I8 is a perforated strainer I 9 curved transversely to conform to the curvature of the bottom of the pan 5, the edges of the strainer resting upon the inclined walls 8 of the pan to support the bottom of the strainer 20 in a slightly elevated position above the bottom Ill of the pan. A handle 2| extends upwardly from the strainer to facilitate removal of the strainer from the receptacle [8 for the purpose of removing insects which have been deposited therein. T

The side walls 8, adjacent their upper rear edges, are provided with openings 22 through which a brace rod 23 is inserted, one end of the brace rod having a nut 24 threaded thereon, bymeans of which the upper edges of the sides 8 may be drawn into a position toward each other to enable the use of the pan in more restricted In the use of the device, a quantity of insecticide may be placed in the receptacle l8 and the hand grips l4 and I5 used by a person to move the pan in a straddling position along a row of plants, and through the use of the paddle 25 as shown in Figure 4 of the drawing, the branches of the plants may be agitated and the insects caused to drop into the pair of spaced parallel pan sections 6 or into the receptacle 58. The insects which fall into the forward portion of the pan section 6 are forced rearwardly over the inclined partition I! into the receptacle by use of the paddle 25 to create a force of air for blowing the insects rearwardly of the pan. The strainer l9 being immersed in the insecticide,

' may readily be removed and the dead insects removed therefrom without disturbing the insecticide.

In order to prevent surging of the insecticide in the receptacle [8 while the device is being carried the strainer I9 is provided with a longitudinal upstanding bafile or dam 25 and a transverse upstanding bafile or dam 2'1, the latter being perforated as shown at 28. The bafiles are crossed at an intermediate point as shown in Figl, ure 1.

It is believed the details of construction and use of the device will be readily understood from sections, a transversely extending partition separating the pan sections from the receptacle, said partition being inclined upwardly and rearwardly to facilitate passage of the insects from the pan sections into the receptacle.

2. An insect destroyer comprising a pan including a pair of forwardly extending spaced parallel pan sections adapted to straddle a plant row, each pan including a bottom and an outer side wall, the latter being connected by a rear wall, the inner edges of said pan having an upstanding flange extending partly along the front edge of the pan, an insecticide receptacle rearwar-dly of said pan sections, a transversely extending partition separating the pan sections from the receptacle, said partition being inclined upwardly and rearwardly to facilitate passage of the insects from the pan sections into the receptacle, and a handle extending upwardly from the rear edge of the pan.

3. An insect destroyer comprising a pan including a pair of forwardly extending spaced parallel pan sections adapted to straddle a plant row, an insecticide receptacle rearwardly of said pan sections, a transversely extending partition separating the pan sections from the receptacle, said partition being inclined upwardly and rearwardly to facilitate passage of the insects from the pan sections into the receptacle, a strainer removably carried in said receptacle, and upstanding transverse and longitudinal baffles in said strainer adapted to prevent surging of the insecticide in the receptacle.

JOHN RUFUS DIFFINBAUGH. 

